Dusty Baker looked as if he were spreading rock salt on a gigantic, icy driveway while he ambled around Wrigley Field in curious fashion last Wednesday morning. The first pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals was about three and a half hours away and...

When the Yankees clinched the American League East title in Detroit last September, Sterling Hitchcock had an empty feeling. The only thing he had done for the team, he figured, was give up three runs to the Twins in the 14th inning to set up Jason...

August 15, 2003, Friday

The radar guns tracked each of his 82 pitches, and when he left the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning, there were very few fans to stand and cheer. For Sterling Hitchcock, this was less a performance than an audition. On the Yankees' only...

March 21, 2003, Friday

Sterling Hitchcock, the subject of trade rumors because he is unlikely to be in the Yankees' starting rotation, had his best spring training outing today. The left-handed Hitchcock gave up two runs, one earned, and four hits in four innings in the...

March 16, 2003, Sunday

When the Yankees activate the left-hander Sterling Hitchcock from the disabled list, it may not ease the burden on Mike Stanton, who has been the only left-hander in the bullpen for a few weeks now. But it will make it easier for Manager Joe Torre to...

The Yankees placed the left-hander Sterling Hitchcock on the disabled list with a strained lower back, and recalled another left-hander, Randy Choate, from Class AAA Columbus. Hitchcock, who missed the start of the season with back problems, had...

June 29, 2002, Saturday

Bernie Williams has always been a slow starter, Joe Torre said during the last week of spring training, but as a manager you are always hoping your players do not accept those patterns. ''I think that's probably just the way things are going to...

April 10, 2002, Wednesday

The Yankees have been bothered by nagging injuries all spring training, and today they announced that one of the injuries would linger into the season. The left-hander Sterling Hitchcock, who had been competing for a spot in the starting rotation,...

March 22, 2002, Friday

Andy Pettitte may not be the only Yankees left-hander trying to stop tipping his pitches. Sterling Hitchcock is having a rough spring training, and the reason may be that hitters know what is coming. Opposing hitters have a .351 average against...

March 12, 2002, Tuesday

The Yankees claimed pitcher Brett Jodie on waivers from the San Diego Padres yesterday, five months after they traded him to the Padres in a deal for Sterling Hitchcock. Jodie, a right-hander, made only one start for the Yankees last season,...